Andrew Weber

Austin is full of bike lovers. But not everyone has the wheels with which to whip around town. Enter: bike sharing. 

Just not yet.

Annick Beaudet of the Public Works department tells KUT News that the program has seen “complications,” and that a launch planned for this spring – which would’ve coincided with May as National Bike Month – will be delayed.

Today, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board bypassed a potential legislative sunset, meaning state legislators will not shutter the group’s doors under the Sunset Act.

That bill, however, also contains a contentious little provision in the form of an amendment – a provision that some say would allow college groups to discriminate on the basis of sexual preference and religion.

The amendment from Rep. Matt Krause, R- Fort Worth, would allow officially recognized, religious college organizations the right to ban those who “demonstrate opposition to the organization’s stated beliefs and purposes,” according to language in the amendment.

Governor Rick Perry signed the Michael Morton Act this afternoon,  a law that will require prosecutors in criminal cases to share evidence with defense attorneys.

The Governor characterized Texas as a “law and order” state and that the new law will allow judicial process to be as transparent and as open as humanly possible when it goes into effect in September of this year.

Language on social media is honest, instant and, sometimes, inappropriate.  And the Internet’s elephantine memory holds on to every last questionable comment.  

Researchers at Humboldt State University used Twitter’s geo-coding to tag over 150,000 tweets from the better part of the past year to map what they call the “Geography of Hate,” an interactive database of hateful language all over the US.

The Austin Chamber of Commerce is looking to sell Austin abroad.

Yesterday, the chamber and the State Department invited 26 ambassadors from around the world joined top tech companies like Google, Apple, Samsung and AT&T at the Driskill Hotel, in a tour aimed at bringing more international businesses to Austin.

We’ve seen the future – and it is automated.

We have automated vacuum cleaners, cars and even warplanes. So it was only a matter of time until the practice moved to home furnishings. And Sunday before last, at 5 a.m., the UT Robotics and Automation Society (RAS) debuted the latest – and most peculiar – automation application: a robotic couch.

Central Texas isn’t taking any chances when it comes to wildfires.

Today, Travis County unveiled a new STAR Flight helicopter designed to fight wildfires, and tomorrow the city and the county are teaming up for a series of public meetings for their “Community Wildfire Protection Plan.”

Austin Schools Superintendent Meria Carstarphen said voters sent a message to the school board in this Saturday’s bond election: Work with what you have.

Carstarphen said that the $490 million approved for Austin schools will help the district focus on what she called “critical needs.” But she added that voters’ rejection of Propositions 2 and 4 could mean that AISD will use cost-saving measures.

The Texas House passed a bill last night that could limit the use of aerial drones by both law enforcement and private citizens.

Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Terrell, points out that police need a warrant to enter private property, and says his bill would provide the same requirement for law enforcement using drones.

President Barack Obama’s got a thing for Austin.

The President is kicking off his “Middle Class Jobs and Opportunity Tour” in the Capitol City today. The White House says Austin was picked as the place to start the tour, because it leads the country in manufacturing and tech job growth. (And we’re sure Austin’s reputation as a Democratic city in a solidly Republican state doesn’t hurt either.)

With the news that Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg may be leaving the hoosegow, corrections officers may be looking over their shoulders, hoping that the county’s highest ranking law officer doesn’t write them a bad review.

But Lehmberg wouldn’t be the first to leave a jail bad feedback on Yelp.

Obi-Wan Kenobi lied.

When the Jedi Master said “The Force will be with you, always,” he wasn’t exactly correct. Around the country, the force get its own special day: May the 4th.

Yep, that’s right, young Padawans. Tomorrow is National Star Wars Day. And this year it falls on the first Saturday of May, which – as any devotee of pulp yarns will tell you – is another storied celebration in the pantheon of nerddom: Free Comic Book Day.

Update: The Texas A&M Board of Regents approved the university’s $450 million plan to redevelop Kyle Field into the biggest stadium in Texas (by seating capacity). Demolition work on the existing stadium is slated to begin in November this year, with plans for a grand opening in time for the 2015 football season.

You can read a press release, and view a photo gallery here.

Original post (May 1): Football is big at Texas A&M and it could be getting bigger – even bigger than it is at UT Austin.

If the film "Trash Dance" has a mantra, it’s simple: Power to the people. Those people and that power, however, don’t conjure up the familiar themes of power through politics but, strangely enough, dance.

And garbage trucks. 

The film follows choreographer Allison Orr’s work with Austin Energy and Solid Waste Services to make meticulously synchronized dance routines featuring everyday utility service vehicles. So it’s power to the people, who give you power and haul your trash.

Austin could be getting extreme in the summer of 2014.

The Circuit of the Americas announced yesterday that the 1500 acre racetrack and concert venue is on a list of four finalists to host the 2014 Summer X Games and enter into a three-year contract with ESPN, the event’s sponsor.